Her books are everywhere. Few people haven't seen or heard of the New York Times best-selling vampire tales by Stephanie Meyers. Meyers, whose fourth book comes out this August, is a member of the LDS church.

LDS writers of all genres gathered Saturday at BYU for the Association for Mormon Letters conference, to encourage LDS advancement in writing and the arts.

"The purpose of the conference , is to foster good writing by and about Mormons," said Eric Samuelsen, president of Association for Mormon Letters President.

Members of the AML presented topics ranging from "Science Fiction, Fantasy and Mormons" to "Reading classic literature with a Christian eye." Members also discussed the progress of Mormon literature and criticism.

The association, founded 25 years ago, maintains archives, review of books and a literary magazine to promote Mormon literature and art.

Membership and conferences are free for BYU students. Liz Busby, president of the BYU branch of the AML, said it is important for students to participate.

"Far too many students who pass through here think that Mormon literature is only what they advertise during conference," Busby said. "There is a wide world of LDS literature and people who are committed to improving it."

There is a long history of Mormon novels, Busby said.

"The church used to be very adamant about producing it own art," Busby said, "so it wouldn't be influenced by the art and literature of the world"

Busby, who presented last year, said the conference is a great opportunity to improve writing because presenters share a common religion with their audience and they are invested in each other's ideas.

Scot Bayles, an English major from California, discussed Saturday a topic he said he has enjoyed researching: "Intertextuality in Scripture."

"It is a good opportunity to learn to present what you've learned to other people," Bayles said.

The format for presenting is informal and open, allowing for maximum feedback.

"Writers can use other writers to strengthen their work," Bayles said.

During a luncheon, AML officers presented various awards for 2007.

Todd Robert Petersen earned the Marilyn Brown Novel Award for his novel "Rift" Coke Newel's book "On the Road to Heaven" earned the 2007 Novel Award. "This is What I Did", by Andy Ells won the Young Adult Science Fiction Award.

A full list of awards can be found on the Association for Mormon Letters website mormonletters.org.

camilletanner@byu.net